UCLA professors were a part of a special panel on quantum computing that was held at the House Science Committee Briefing Room in Washington, D.C.

To think of quantum computing is to think of solving problems that today’s computers wouldn’t be able to finish in a lifetime, or, perhaps, even a lifetime of an entire universe.

It is with that promise of scale, that UCLA researchers hosted a panel in Washington, D.C., to answer questions as the federal government grapples with how to keep up with this fast moving research.

On Sept. 25, the Quantum Computing: Exploring the Information Revolution panel discussion was held in the House Science Committee Briefing Room, where the panelists explored the current state of quantum computing technology along with potential opportunities for the field from the perspective of academic and industry leaders.

Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove introduces a special California State Boards and Commissions Appointments Workshop at the UCLA Faculty Center. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

The California Governor is in charge of more than 3,000 appointments to more than 295 boards and commissions that span topics ranging from medicine, to water, and even the movie industry.

Civically engaged volunteer applicants are needed continually to fill these positions, and UCLA Government and Community Relations partnered with 54th District Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove to offer a special workshop for the campus community to describe the process of applying.

More than 200 people attended the special California State Boards and Commissions Appointments Workshop on Sept. 27, which was hosted at the UCLA Faculty Center. Governor Jerry Brown’s Appointment Secretary Mona Pasquil moderated. She and a panel of four current and former board and commission members introduced instructions for how to apply while answering audience questions.

UCLA Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Monroe Gordon commits the university to the first annual College and University Voter Registration Ballot Bowl. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

As California Secretary of State Alex Padilla stood before a group of enthusiastic UCLA students in front of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, he couldn’t help but smile about his choice of campuses to kick off the inaugural College and University Voter Registration Ballot Bowl.

“I feel the energy, and we just need to keep building on it into the November election,” he said, adding that the UCLA students present represented the “true Bruin spirit, the spirit of teamwork, spirit of community service, and the spirit of friendly competition.”

UCLA is an economic powerhouse for Los Angeles, Southern California and California overall. A study by the Beacon Economics consultancy found that UCLA generated a total of $11.06 billion in economic activity and supported more than 72,700 full-time jobs throughout the state during the 2016–17 fiscal year.

The report also found that UCLA is the fourth largest employer in Los Angeles County, behind the county itself, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the City of Los Angeles, and ahead such companies as Kaiser Permanente, Northrop Grumman and Target Corp.

Fifth District County Supervisor Kathryn Barger addresses the room flanked by UCLA Government and Community Relations Executive Director Richard Benbow and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger came to UCLA with a commitment to working with experts here to end homelessness and treat the county’s health and mental health issues that often go hand-in-hand with this countywide crisis.

“Mental health and health, in general, are my passions,” she said during a roundtable discussion on Sept. 6 at UCLA Center for Health Sciences.

At the start of her career, Barger worked as former Firth District Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s health deputy, and she has maintained her commitment to those issues ever since. “We have to look at the cause of what’s taking place in this population and what is growing it. I am committed to working with you all … This isn’t about any one district.”

Barger heard from an accomplished group representing three major facets of UCLA’s work with the homeless community:

State Sen. Holly J. Mitchell hasn’t forgotten about the importance of higher education as she has ascended to chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

California State Senator Holly J. Mitchell has been working toward this moment for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve always been civically active, so I grimace when people confess that they aren’t,” she said from her office in Exposition Park, reflecting on a life dedicated to her community at large. “It’s our collective and individual responsibility.”

It wasn’t that Mitchell’s parents forced this mentality onto her, but both were social workers, and social consciousness and advocacy was just woven into the family persona. And sometimes that meant her mother needed to be out of the house at 5 a.m. to open a Riverside County clinic.

“Sometimes it’s circumstance. “My mother would say, ‘Come ride with me to Blythe on a Saturday morning.’” Mitchell playfully rolls her eyes recalling a 5 a.m. trip to a Riverside County methadone clinic. “It’s just what they did. And so it was an integral part of me.”